George Jonas
George Jonas | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 15, 1935 Budapest, Hungary |
| Occupation | Writer and columnist |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Notable works | By Persons Unknown (1977), Vengeance (1984) |
| Notable awards | 1978 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime book |
| Spouse | Barbara Amiel (former) |
| Relatives | Son of Dr. Georg M. Hübsch and Magda Hübsch (née Klug) |
| Website | |
| www.georgejonas.ca | |
George Jonas (born June 15 1935) is a Hungarian-born Canadian writer, poet and journalist. Describing himself as a classical liberal, he is the author of 16 books. These include Vengeance (1984), the story of an Israeli operation to kill the terrorists responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre. The book became the basis of two films, Sword of Gideon (1986)[1] and Munich (2005).
Personal life
Jonas was born in Budapest, the son of Dr. Georg M. Hübsch and Magda Hübsch (née Klug). During the Holocaust in Hungary in 1944–45, Jonas went into hiding with his family. He emigrated to Canada in 1956. He was married to Barbara Amiel from 1974 to 1979, and they remain good friends. A book he co-wrote with Amiel, By Persons Unknown: The Strange Death of Christine Demeter, won a 1978 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime book. Although Jonas is of Jewish descent, when Amiel insisted they married in a synagogue, it was the first time that he had been inside one.[2]
Career
Jonas worked as a radio producer in Budapest before escaping after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1962 to 1985 as a script editor and producer. He worked as a columnist for the Toronto Sun from 1981 to 2001, when he moved to the National Post where he remains a regular contributor. He has written 16 books, one play, and two operas.
Vengeance
His 1984 book Vengeance, describing the events of Operation Wrath of God became the basis for two films: TV-film Sword of Gideon (1986), and feature film Munich (2005), directed by Steven Spielberg.[3] Jonas has complained of what he considers pro-Palestinian distortions in Munich. Specifically, Jonas feels that the script writer Tony Kushner, a Jew who has referred to the formation of Israel as a "mistake," failed to make any moral distinction between terrorism and legitimate military actions. At the same time, some critics declared that Jonas's source for the book, New York security consultant Juval Aviv, who claimed to be the head of a Mossad hit team, had fabricated the story. In a lengthy article in Maclean's magazine in January 2006, Jonas admits that there is no way of determining whether his source was telling the truth. He did however to verify various details at some of the places from which his source had claimed to be operating.[4]
Work
- The Absolute Smile, 1967. (Poems)
- The Happy Hungry Man, 1970. (Poems)
- Cities, 1973. (Poems)
- By Persons Unknown: The Strange Death of Christine Demeter co-written with Barbara Amiel, 1977.
- Final Decree, 1981. (Novel)
- The Scales of Justice: Seven Famous Criminal Cases Recreated, 1983.
- Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, 1984.
- Foreword for "In the Name of the Working Class" written by Sándor Kopácsi,Grove Press, 1986.
- The Scales of Justice: Volume II, 1986.
- Greenspan: The Case for the Defense, 1987. (Biography)
- Crocodiles in the Bathtub and Other Perils, 1987. (Articles 1977-87)
- A Passion Observed: A True Story of a Motorcycle Racer, 1989. (Biography)
- Politically Incorrect: Notes on Liberty, Censorship, Social Engineering, Feminism, Apologists and other Topics of our Times, 1991.
- The East Wind Blows West, 1993. (Poems)
- Beethoven's Mask: Notes On My Life and Times, Key Porter Books, 2005. (Autobiography)
- Reflections on Islam: Ideas, Opinions, Arguments, Key Porter Books, 2007.
- The Jonas Variations: A Literary Séance, Cormorant Books, 2011. (Poetry Translations)
References
- ^ "Sword of Gideon", IMDb.
- ^ "Beethoven's Mask: Notes on my Life and Times" (2005) p.233.
- ^ George Jonas. Description of Vengeance on Jonas's website.
- ^ George Jonas. "The Spielberg Massacre", MacLeans, January 7, 2006.